Of Dragons and Men
by NastyZombieMold
Summary: A woman with white hair, claims to be a dwarf, elf mutt, and, at the request of Gandalf, joins the Company on the journey to defeat Smaug, even if she doesn't want to. She has secrets and two nosy dwarves might get in her way. That is, if the handsome elf prince doesn't first.
1. Chapter 1

**ATTENTION!**

**I want give my most sincerest apology to anyone who has read this story and been frustrated/angered/sad that it has not been continued. I have decided to not discontinue it, but to rewrite it!**

**I will be giving a few major changes to the whole idea, but I believe it will make this story much better!**

**I do want you all to know that I have not stopped thinking about this story since I last updated it. I feel so guilty for just leaving you all here and not continuing or fixing it, but now, here I am!**

**Better late than never, right?**

**Some of the changes will include:**

**-Nakita's description/personality (Not by a large amount, but some small tweaks)**

**-The pairing of the story**

**-Some key points**

**-The quality of this story**

**I'M NOT GOING TO SUGAR COAT THIS PEOPLE!**

_**I FUCKING SUCK!**_

**But, like I said! I'm here now and this story shall be revised and be brought back to your attention brand spankin' new!~ :D**

**So, please enjoy the revised story of Of Dragons and Men!3**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

The fragile sky was broken up by the teeth like mountains known as the Grey Mountains. They were vast, dark mountains, but were not nearly as mighty as they used to be. To the west sat the Withered Heath. A dangerous, yet beautiful place where the dreadful race of dragons bred. Not much of them were seen in these days, but there were rumors of them still about. The worst was the dragon known as Smaug the terrible, but none had heard of him in so long, everyone didn't expect him to still be snorting his nasty fire anymore.

In between these two mountainous regions was a small cave. The cave wasn't just a regular old cave, but a home. It was the home of an odd woman who slept on the furs of fallen stags and bears and anything that she had hunted. She wasn't savage, like it seemed. The home had a door and wall covering the entrance, a window, and even a warm hearth. It had a room for books and scrolls and a room for dining, which the woman felt like a mockery. She didn't get guests. But, what the woman was was she was skilled and knew her ways around trouble. She was different than the original races of Middle Earth. Orc, Elf, Dwarf, Human, even Hobbit. None of them remembered this woman or her people, but it was for the best, was it not?

The woman was just finishing making a delicious looking meal of deer meat, potatoes, mashed of course, and a cup of water. She would have preferred wine, but she didn't have many people to trade with, other than the occasional times she would go into the town of men south from her. She usually only went when she was running low on food. She would pick up odd jobs here and there and get some money or something she could trade. After all, there wasn't much the small Laketown could offer in it's poor state.

She had just sat down and taken a bite of her meat, when a knock on the door had her practically jump out of her skin. She hadn't had a visitor since she was about fifty seven years of age. Hastily, she rose up from her chair and ran to the door, as if her guest was going to vanish if she didn't get there fast enough. Opening the door, she was met with a wizard and a familiar one at that.

"Gandalf..." She whispered in surprise.

The grey bearded wizard smiled fondly at the woman and leaned against his staff. He replied in his gruff voice, "Nakita. It's been too long. Much too long." He laughed, but the woman, known as Nakita, did not share his humor. Instead, she answered him hotly.

"Yes, I recall you saying one thousand one hundred and thirteen years ago, you said you'd visit soon..."

Gandalf looked a little defeated as she pointed out the truth. "I am sorry that you had to be alone for so long, Nakita. I truly am." He sighed, "But, I have lots of important things to attend to."

Nakita's shoulders drooped slightly and she retreated farther into her home, entering the living quarters. "I know you do, Gandalf. I'm sorry, but I just get so lonely." Gandalf was following her and and to duck slightly to get around, but it wasn't too bad. The roof was uneven, which left him some spots to stand upright. He noticed the meal still sitting on the table, through the archway into the dining hall.

"Am I interrupting your dinner?" He asked, politely.

"No, of course not. Please, sit." She smiled softly at him and offered him a one of the two chairs that sat at the beat up wooden counter. "So, what are you doing this far north?" She asked, sitting back down in hers once the wizard sat next to her.

"What? Am I not allowed to come visit you out of the blue?" He asked, sounding hurt. Nakita looked up at him with a glare and the wizard huffed. He was quiet before sighing and speaking. "I have a task for you. It is of utmost importance that you come with me."

Setting down her fork, she looked up at him. Curiosity sparking in her golden eyes. There wasn't much thinking for her to do and Gandalf was a bit taken back by her outburst.

"Anything to get out of this boring purgatory I call a life!"

**Chapter One**

Bilbo Baggins ran throughout his house frantically as he tried to keep the many dwarves from destroying everything he owned. "P-please! Don't touch that! That was my mother's!" He ripped a fragile looking cup from the hands of a laughing dwarf. Twelve of these things were waltzing around his hobbit hole, eating just about anything they could find.

They had all introduced themselves quite politely, but even after he had tried to kept them out, they all had barged in. He was exceptionally aggravated by the two known as Fili and Kili. The two, who were brothers, were throwing things back and forth and poor Bilbo was caught in the suspense of something to break.

He was running passed his room, but slammed his large feet down the second he saw the door was slightly ajar. Infuriated that one of these brutes had entered his personal quarters, he burst through the door, but all anger turned to confusion and shock when he was met with a woman with her back to him.

"E-excuse me... How did you get in here?" He asked, his eyes lingering on her flowing white hair that ended near her lower back. He expected full features of a dwarf woman, beard and all, but when she turned to face him, he was left with more shock. He began making more stuttering noises.

"Through the front door." She answered simply. Her golden eyes were fluttering through a book. "It's not that hard to enter in a house full of obnoxious dwarves." She cocked an eyebrow and looked up at him with a smirk.

"But w-what are you doing here?" He asked again. She had no beard, let alone any braids, and her face was very elven like, with a hint of man in the way her jaw set, but she stood at a possible four foot five inches and the way her hair tumbled down in curls was most definitely dwarf. Her lips were a bit darker and had a pinkish tone to them.

"Same as the others." She stated, looking back down at the book. It was very old and intrigued her.

"But why is that? No one will tell me!" He cried in frustration and, had he not covered his face with his hands, he would have seen the look of sympathy the woman gave him.

"You'll find out, just relax and-" An uproar of laughter burst through the doors, making Bilbo flinch and run out of the room to check to see if they had done any damage. The woman sighed, shaking her head in sympathy for the poor hobbit. She was surprised he was able to handle so much stress. She closed the book and set it back gently where she had found it and pulled her hair up in her hands in a ponytail manner, but dropped it and began to walk out of the room. All at once the laughter stopped, which made the hairs on the back of Nakita's neck stand up. She knew exactly who had just arrived. She could hear the faint chuckles of greetings as they were exchanged. The last guest had come and it was time to get serious. She walked out into the dining room where everyone was seated. She had remained undetected so far and as soon as she entered she hid behind Gandalf as she sat down in a chair. He gave a small smile as he smoked his pipe. She looked up to see the leader of the dwarves and her eyes slightly widened at the man standing before her.

"Thorin... son of Thrain..." She breathed, only Gandalf being able to hear her. The true king of the dwarves sat at the foot of the table and she wasn't even supposed to be here. It had been Gandalf's idea to bring her along, not Thorin's. No one except for Gandalf and Bilbo knew she was here. She closed her eyes and waited for her poor soul to be noticed. She had the feeling it wouldn't go well.

A prodding on her side awoke Nakita. She had dozed off after closing her eyes. She turned to Gandalf who had moved from her side. He was now pointing to her as he spoke to Thorin. Another poke to her side made her look over at the dark haired dwarf who was leaning uncomfortably close. A blonde dwarf stood next to him as he held a piece of her white hair.

"How old are you?" He asked curiously and she swatted both of their hands away.

"I'm fifty seven, thank you very much." She lied and slid away from the two a bit, looking back at Thorin and Gandalf.

"Who are you?" The dark haired one asked, leaning back. He had an uncomfortably intense glare as he examined her. She was wearing her usual attire of a strapless grey shirt under a brown leather corset. Black shorts that stopped too high to be called proper were under a brown leather belt. Her rump was covered by a leather flap and a slanted red skirt flared out from that. All of this was usually hidden under her black cloak, but that was hanging up in the entry way of Bilbo's hobbit hole. She still had her brown fingerless gloves on that were made from thick wool she had traded a stag for not too long ago.

"More like what are you?" The blonde one broke in.

"My names Nakita..." She hesitated, but added the formal dwarf greeting, however she did do it without a bow, "At your service..."

"Fili." The blonde one nodded. "Kili." The brunette smirked and they both bowed in unison. "At your service." Nakita could tell the two close with the way they seemed to act as a unit.

"You're dwarven, right?" Kili asked skeptically.

"...Sure." She mumbled uncomfortably.

"Then where's your beard?" Fili asked baffled at the lack of facial hair she had.

"I don't have one." She answered, the corner of her mouth tilting upwards at the way their eyes seemed to bulge and Kili's mouth hung open.

They seemed to become even more interested, but apparently all of the other dwarves had been eavesdropping, for the one known as Ori spoke up.

"If you don't have a beard, but are dwarfish, how does that work?" He asked and quickly sunk down at her gaze. Her gold eyes sparkling with amusement. This question made Thorin turn and listen to the woman. She gave Gandalf a quick look to make sure it would be safe to say her cover up race.

"To be precise I have the blood of dwarf and..." She cleared her throat before continuing, "And elf." Thorin's eyes widened and he turned to Gandalf in anger.

"An elf!? You bring an elf with you to come with my Company?" He raged. Gandalf gave a small foxlike smile. Nakita's eyebrows raised as she watched the wizard be unmoved at the seething rage coming at him from Thorin.

"She isn't just an elf, Thorin. You're looking at the one thing that can make your journey a success." He countered. Nakita wiped her head to face him.

"Sorry... I'm what?" The question silenced everyone. As Nakita kept going Thorin sat back listening to every single letter that came out. "You told me I was just another brute to help fight off any trouble that came up. That's my job, Gandalf. What do you mean 'the one thing that can make your journey a success'?" She asked, now being the one that was angry with the wizard who she had apparently known so well.

"And you will help if there is trouble, but... you're a bit more important than that."

"And you couldn't have told me?" Her hair started to move softly as if an invisible breeze had started drafting around her. Gandalf's eyes grew slightly stern as he saw the stray hairs on her head move at a low constant.

"Please, Nakita. Control your temper." He glanced at Bilbo and smirked then stared at Thorin. "We wouldn't want you to burn down this poor Hobbit's home." Most of the dwarves began whispering to themselves, but Bilbo spoke up and started frantically asking what he meant.

"Fine then. I'll just be going." Nakita gave a cat-like smile with her lips as she turned to walk out of the home, but instead of Gandalf's voice to stop her it was Thorin's.

"Wait." His voice boomed and everything went silent. "Stay and let me speak with my company about this matter." He shooed Gandalf and everyone but the dwarves he knew out of the room. When Gandalf passed Nakita she hissed angry remarks at him.

"I hate you... I was just going to be a mercenary, like any other job I've ever taken. I refuse to be some great asset on this quest." Before Gandalf could respond to her, Bilbo cut in as politely as he could without straining himself.

"Excuse me... You're not going to burn my home down... are you?" He asked hopefully.

"That all depends, my dear hobbit," She looked to Bilbo. "If this wizard explains himself before I start spontaneously combusting." This made Bilbo turn slightly pale.

"Nakita," Gandalf grumbled. "Leave his sanity alone. You're coming on this quest, no matter what their vote is."

"Don't treat me like a child, Gandalf. I will go if I please. I will _not _be someone I am destined to be. I make my own destiny. Not a god, not you, and sure as hell not. A. Dragon!" She ended up yelling and the dwarves, who had been whispering to themselves, had turned to watch the two argue. Thorin stood up and addressed Nakita. She snapped her head over to him with a fierce glare.

"What?" She asked through gritted teeth. Her canines were sharper then the rest of her teeth, making Bilbo jump. The dwarves were baffled by her tone with royalty.

"Much to my... distaste, you have been voted to join the Company on our journey. Break this bond and you will be killed." He warned. He knew mercenaries could hardly be trusted if someone offered them a better offer than their original deal, so he would keep a very close eye on her. Gandalf gave a smile as he knew she wouldn't refuse the chance to make a good amount of gold.

Nakita frowned, but nodded and walked over to Balin, who began explaining further into the contract. She didn't want to seem rude, despite her anger, so she let him talk and every so often she would give a nod. Finally after much explaining she signed the bottom, but instead of mingling with the others, she went outside. Gandalf was about to run after, but she informed him she was just going for a walk. He refused to let her go until Fili and Kili offered to spy on her as she went to make sure she didn't leave. He allowed it and the two followed her out through the forest.

"What do you think of her?" Kili asked, as the two watched from far behind so she wasn't able to see them.

"Nakita? She's... interesting I suppose. Definitely not my type, but I'm sure you could get over the no beard." He laughed, adding in something about how Kili couldn't even grow a proper one and received a shove to the shoulders.

"No, you arse! I meant as a person, not a bloody love interest!" He huffed, but chuckled.

"She reminds me of a cat... mixed with a fox."

"Sly and feminine mixed with more sly?" He asked. It was his turn to be shoved.

"Yeah, precisely. You just put it dumbly." Kili rolled his eyes, but quickly froze. "What is it?" Kili looked terrified and Fili almost screamed like a little girl when he saw Nakita standing in front of them. She bent over laughing, eventually falling over onto the ground. The two circled her, Fili with an embarrassed shade of red slightly flushing his cheeks. After a long time of giggle then breathing then more laughter then giggling again then laughing again, Nakita finally stopped and smirked.

"Sly and feminine mixed with more sly?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Kili. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as she stood up and brushed herself off. "You definitely have the cat part right, but I prefer to be more of a cat mixed with a wolf."

The brothers were surprised at the last part, but it only made them more interested. "So, if you're a wolf, then you're evil?"

"There is no evil, just like there is no good." She looked up at him, her eye half closed, making her look even more sly than usual. "It's all just a matter of opinions. Plus, wolves are one of the most dangerously loyal animals out there."

"A scholar, perhaps?" Fili asked in suspicion. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because I could really sit and waste away my life learning about everything from other people's point of view instead of seeing it myself." She said.

"So an adventurer?" Kili suggested.

"I've only ever served as a mercenary for cave explorations with a group of men once or twice near Gondor... so not really."

"Are you anything?" Fili asked.

"I'm a dwarf woman that'll put you in your place if you make me angry." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on one leg, pushing her hip out to the side. "How's that?" Kili laughed and Fili took a small step back with his arms raised in defeat.

Nakita began to walk and the two followed her. They kept asking questions, but once Kili asked about her hair she stopped walking and gave them a warning not to ask about it again and kept walking, so they avoided this subject generously. Kili and Fili were in the middle of telling a story when all of a sudden, Nakita stopped walking as they entered a clearing and the moon shown down onto the three. Her hair instantly lit up as if it had absorbed all of moon's rays. Her orange eyes blazing, despite the lack of warm light. The two stared at her as if she weren't mentally sound as she just stood their with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. After a long moment of silence Kili spoke.

"Why, if you don't mind me asking, are you so... odd?" He did his best to be polite about it and his brother joined in.

"I was thinking the same thing. I mean, you're not normal," He paused and quickly tried to apologize for how that came out.

Nakita laughed a little and looked back at the two.

"I'm more than meets the eye. Plus, I haven't had any contact with real people in years, so I'm a little rusty on my social skills." She explained.

"Well, why have you been away?" Kili asked. His brother gave him a slap to the torso, saying it's probably personal.

"It's better if you don't. Now come on or Gandalf will think I've killed you and ran." She called as she turned and started walking back to Bag End.

"Yeah, let's... Wait what?" Fili asked. "Who says you could kill us, especially since it's two on one?"

"Who says I couldn't?" She asked, the look she gave them made it seem like she dared them to answer, but they just stopped and followed her back to Bilbo's, talking to themselves all the way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so last chapter was the revision edit of the prologue and first chapter! I hope you like it and I should be able to finish the next two chapters today!**

**Enjoy the redo of chapter 2!:)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Nakita hummed softly to herself as she packed her things into the two saddle bags. It was just after dawn, the sun not sitting very high, and the Company was preparing to leave on their journey. The morning had been silent except for the jokes Fili and Kili had shared with a few others to try and lighten the mood, but no amount of tomfoolery could make them smile for long. They were about to head for the Lonely Mountain and try to take back the home of the dwarves in Erebor. They were about to go on a journey that most considered only death lay at the end. They were going to kill Smaug the Terrible.

She let out a shaky breath as she slung the saddle bags over her horse's back. She had brought her own horse, a stallion named Ernil, which meant prince in elvish, that she had bought and raised herself. The two were nearly inseparable and they could easily read each other's feelings and gestures. The horse was actually quite tall and it was almost comical seeing such a small rider with such a massive horse. His fur was black with white and yellow dots meshed in everywhere. He looked like a starry night sky and his eyes were a color of a mix of orange and chocolate brown.

Shadowmere blew air out into Nakita's face as she spaced out. Snapping back to reality, she gently scratched the stallion's nose and sighed.

"What are we to do, Ernil? Huh?" She asked the horse, obviously not expecting an answer. "Gandalf said I'm important to this journey... What does that even mean?" The male let out a neigh when she stopped petting him and she continued once more. "I've left home only twice, three times, but that was cave exploring and all I did was kill like two goblins! Not go on a bloody quest to defeat a dragon!" She huffed in frustration. "I was a storyteller and a bard before any of that too. I have no real talent..."

She stopped moving and looked around carefully before reopening one of the saddle bags, revealing a handful of gold coins. She stared at the gold with a hungry, intense glaze over her eyes. She wanted more. No, not wanted. _Needed_ more. She was about to go on a frenzy and steal some of the poor Hobbit's gold from his home and make a beeline for hers when a voice behind made her practically jump out of her skin.

"Hey, are these yours?" Kili came up behind her holding two twin axes. They were beautifully crafted and looked sharp and well kept. The blades were jagged and looked like they had once been a saw before becoming an ax blade. He paused and looked at her skeptically. "Were you just talking to yourself?"

Nakita whipped around, shoving the coins back in her bag. She relaxed when it was just him and snatched her weapons from him and grumbled something before responding to his question. "No, I was not thank you very much." She slid her axes on each side of her belt, leaving the sharp blades up by her hips. He looked highly skeptical, but seemed to shrug it off and forget about it.

"So, Gandalf tells us that your quite the skilled fighter." He smiled, going to stroke Ernil, but quickly recoiled when the horse tried to bite him. Nakita chuckled a bit, stroking the horse's nose.

"Did he now? Well, I'll just have to give him a talk then, won't I, Ernil?" She asked the stallion in a voice one would use to address a baby or a small pet.

"You ride a horse? I figured you'd ride a pony, like all other dwarves." Fili called out of nowhere, causing Nakita to jump at the new voice. She scowled when he walked around from the other side of her mount.

"Because Ernil is my horse. I had tried buying him from an abusive farmer, but he wouldn't take my money. Then, by..." She paused looking for a word, "some odd series of events, I saved Ernil from the farm when it caught fire... and.. burned down." She looked at a skeptical Kili. "It was tragic." She mentally shook herself and bent down to pick up a brush and began to comb through Ernil's mane, ignoring what had just happened. "And just because I'm a mutt and ride a horse doesn't make me any less of a dwarf then the next person." She huffed, angrily.

"Well, I mean, still. Usually Dwarves prefer being closer to the ground!" Fili exclaimed, trying to stroke the dark furred horse like his brother, but got the same reaction from Ernil.

"Well, I'm not normal. We established this last night. I love my Ernil and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She nuzzled into the horse's neck.

"I see..." Kili raised an eyebrow at the horse, expecting it to bite it's owner as well, but all it did was nuzzle her back. "He's... really something."

"Everyone, let's go." Thorin's voice called from ahead to where his pony had been stabled. She watched him mount the mare and begin to walk. Fili and Kili waved to Nakita before bounding over to their rides and mounting them.

"Are you ready boy?" Nakita asked Ernil. He snorted back at her, seeming to ask _her _if _she _was ready. Sighing, she gave a swift jump and pulled herself onto the bare back of the stallion with all the grace of an elf. Fili had been watching her and wondered if she weighed almost nothing like an elf as well.

"Aren't you going to use a saddle?" The soft voice of Ori asked from below. She looked down to see him on his own pony with his own saddle.

"Oh, uh, no. I prefer to ride without one. It's more comfortable for me and my horse." She smiled gently as she explained.

"Oh, I could never do that. I wouldn't feel as safe without a saddle." He countered with a shy chuckle.

"I can respect that." Was Nakita's reply as she adjusted her weapons and tucked the straps of the saddle bag under her so it wouldn't slip off.

"If you'd like, I could put your saddle bag with mine. That way you wouldn't have to worry about it." He offered quite kindly. She was touched by the gesture, having no one else attempt to get close to her.

"Oh, no. That's quite alright. I can carry my own weight, but thank you very much." She blushed softly, never having been asked something so nice. They continued to walk side by side, talking all the while.

"So, what did you do before all of this?" He asked politely, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"I did quite a lot of things before I became a mercenary, but the things I was best at were a bard, story teller, and a fortune teller." She replied.

"Really? I would never have taken you for such. Us dwarves are quite musical, though, so I could see it and a fortune teller... that's quite the useful talent. Perhaps you could read my fortune one day." He chuckled and Nakita let out a gentle laugh. It resembled the soothing sound of wind chimes. "How did you read the fortunes?" He asked, knowledgeable that there were several ways.

"I read the cracks in bones after they were thrown into the fire." She provided and added, "It's quite a common trade with the man folk in Gondor and will pay good money."

"Interesting." He had pulled out a small book and was frantically scribbling down something. She didn't say anything about it, knowing that someone was going to document the quest, so she just sat there and focused ahead of her. She looked to watch everyone in front of her, reciting their names in her head.

"Wait a minute," Her head snapped up and looked back behind her. "Where's Bilbo? I thought you needed a Burglar..." She asked, looking over to Ori.

"He never signed the contract, so we're continuing on without him. Maybe Thorin will give that job to you." He chuckled and, having finished his scrawling, put his book and quill away. Nakita gave a face at the thought of having to become their Burglar.

"I'd rather not." She mumbled and frowned receding back into her thoughts. She didn't think she would be able to stop herself with all that gold in the mountain. She was a bit sad to not have the hobbit with them as well. He seemed like a nice fellow and since neither of them had really never left home with such a large task at hand, it would have been comforting to have someone like that to talk to. She sighed, dreading the quest a bit more now without the company of a hobbit. Not to mention, he was such an adorable little fellow with his height. She felt comfortable with him.

After about an hour of riding a cry stopped the Company in their tracks. All heads turned to see a winded Bilbo running with a pack rising over his head and a scroll of paper in his hand.

"Wait!" He cried, his voice sounded slightly pleading, "I signed it!" He caught up and handed the contract to Balin, wheezing. "I signed the contract..." He said between gasps.

Balin smiled and looked to Thorin. "Everything seems to be in order." When Thorin gave a grunt in reply, Balin turned back to Bilbo. "Welcome to the Company, Burglar." He chuckled and Nakita looked up just in time to see... an eye roll coming from Thorin? She wasn't sure if she had imagined it, but Gandalf chuckled from behind her, so she thought maybe not.

Bilbo took the pony that had been carrying extra luggage and once he was settled on the pony, they continued their way.

"Good to see you changed your mind." Nakita said with a polite smile. "I wasn't sure I would survive with all of them alone." She chuckled and Bilbo gave a small smile, looking uncomfortable on the pony. She pulled to the side to let Gandalf ride in between them.

All at once, bags of money went flying to a few of the dwarves, making Nakita crack a smile. Bilbo looked around confused and asked Gandalf what was going on.

"Some of us didn't think you'd want to leave your home." He stated simply, still holding onto the smile on his face.

"Did you think I would come?" He asked, but instead of answering Gandalf just smiled, that is until a bag came flying his way. Nakita let out a soft laugh as he answered Bilbo. Ernil flicked an ear at her laughter, seeming to be happy that she was happy.

Hours later of riding, the dwarves had just about enough of Bilbo. Nakita took back every nice thing she had ever said about the hobbit, doing everything she could from not tackling him and beating him to death with a rock, or gods forbid, her own fists. It had been nice at first, they had chatted before Nakita pulled up farther to sit in the middle of Bofur and Nori, keeping to herself and her own thoughts. Bilbo from then on would just nag and complain about anything he thought was bad about this wretched journey and Nakita, like many of the others, was sick of it, but Nakita by far looked the most enraged. She had fallen back again to sit beside the hobbit, hopefully her huffs and grumbles would shut him up.

He went to open his mouth and was about to complain about the heat when she turned and glared razor sharp daggers at him. Instantly he closed his mouth and after that was relatively quiet.

Hoping to calm herself down a bit, Nakita lifted her feet up and laid her back down against Shadowmere's. She wasn't afraid that he would stray from the group because he had quickly gotten the notion of following the other ponies. She closed her eyes and bunched up her long hair into a pile to cushion her head. She was just about to drift off into sleep when she heard the distinguishable voices of Fili and Kili beside her. She opened her eyes to see that their chins were level with her head.

"Can I help you two?" She asked grouchily.

"Oh, no. We just thought that a lovely dwarven lady such as yourself would like some company." Fili said, all too innocently. Kili nodded vigorously in addition.

"Uh huh..." She raised an eyebrow at the two. She looked back to see Bilbo kitty corner behind Fili give her a look, hoping that she didn't believe that they weren't planning something. She blinked slowly in return, letting him know she didn't. "Seriously, what the hell are you two up to?" She asked, looking back and forth between the two. Kili mocked a hurt look and Fili soon followed suit.

"How dare you think that we're up to something!" Fili cried.

"We were just being friendly!" Kili added.

"Yeah, and I'm a wizard!" She flailed her arms as if she were zapping something above her and rolled her eyes. Gandalf looked back at the word wizard and cocked an eyebrow, but went back to watching the path they were going. "Fine, then if you don't mind, I'll just close my eyes and take a nap." She did as she said and pretended to nap, after a few moments she slowed her breathing down to make it seem like she had actually dozed off. She heard Fili encouraging Kili to 'do it' and she was instantly curious as to was 'it' was.

In a horror filled moment she felt a hand brush the hair that had tumbled down and laid on her saddlebag under her. They were looking through her bag. In a flash, Nakita was jumping up, snatching Kili's hand away from her bag. She jumped off of Ernil and onto Kili's saddle, pulling out a small dagger from her boot and holding it to his neck. Anger burned in her eyes and her hair was dancing in a frenzy from an invisible wind.

"_Never _do that again." She threatened. Her orange eyes stared into his brown ones and Fili yelled something frantically. Soon all the dwarves had turned to see the woman standing on Kili's pony, holding him like a hostage. Gandalf rode up beside them and angrily asked what had happened. Nakita simply sheathed the dagger and jumped back onto Ernil, continuing to ride. Thorin ordered everyone to keep going and everyone stayed a distance from the dwarf woman.

"What happened?" Gandalf asked Kili again and he looked over to him, eyes still wide. Nakita listened to him explain himself in a stuttering voice and she took in a deep breath, her hair calming itself and resting back down. She was told to never let anyone know who she really was for the sake of the other's life and she intended to do that, even if she had to hurt them a bit. This was going to be harder than she had imagined.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you like the new story! It's really not that much of a change, but in the long run it is!**

**I originally had no idea where I was going with this, but now I have a plan!****Yaay!:D**

**So here's the new chapter 3!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The sun finally began to set on the first night of the journey and Thorin called Fili and Kili to scout ahead and find a place to camp for the night. Gandalf had rode off earlier, saying he had something to do nearby. This had left Nakita feeling quite alone and she hated it. She rode at the back of the group, no one wanting to talk to her after her actions.

Fili and Kili had whispered to themselves the entire ride after the events, occasionally casting glances her way. It made her feel alone and alienated. Bilbo, once in a while, tried to talk to her, but she only replied with small grunts that sounded sad or curt even, so even he stopped trying eventually.

"Thorin!" Kili's voice called from farther ahead, making Nakita jump at the sudden voice against the quiet. The group followed the voice until they entered a clearing beside a cliff.

"Everyone unpack only what's necessary." Thorin told everyone and Nakita slid off of her horse. The ground was cold, making her give a small grunt of pain when she landed. Bilbo jumped over to her.

"Are you alright?" He fretted and the gesture made her smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just jumped off of Ernil wrong." She replied, shoving his worry off and pulling out a package from her saddle bag. She hitched it onto her belt as she went to Ernil's head and began untangling his mane. "Oh, aren't you just a pretty boy." She cooed and he let out a content snort as an answer.

She was just getting done with the last tangles in his tail when someone let out a cough behind her. She turned to see a guilty looking Fili and Kili. She nodded to them to acknowledge their presence and turned to continue with Ernil's tail. She heard the intake of air, but neither of them spoke. They just watched her for a while, until she was the one to speak.

"Whatever it is you want, spit it out... before you choke on it." She muttered the last part mostly to herself.

"We just wanted to say..." Fili's voice started.

"We wanted to apologize for earlier." Kili finished and they sat still for a while.

"Well, say it then." Nakita snorted. She wasn't angry anymore over it. The dwarf brother's were naturally curious people and it was no surprise that something like that had happened. In fact, she had anticipated it.

"You seem to be taking it... well?" Fili mumbled, slightly afraid that she was furious.

"I'm not angry with you two." She started, finishing the horse's tail and putting the brush back into the bag. "But you really should respect people's privacy, especially if... nevermind." She stopped herself, but Kili sensed that she was hiding something before she could cover it up. "I accept your apology. Now run along." She ordered, as if she were the mother to the two, Fili sat for a second in thought, but Kili pulled him away before he could object about their age differences.

They walked back towards the group, but they stayed a decent distance away from everyone.

"Did you notice it?" Kili asked in a hushed voice, making sure no one could hear them.

"Notice what?" Fili sat down on the ground and leaned back on his hands.

"She's hiding something..." He looked over to where Nakita was sitting between Ori and Bilbo, they could hear her laughter from where they sat.

"Yes, I noticed, but what could it be? I mean, do you really think she has something to hide?"

"Well, obviously!" Kili flung his arms up, frustrated that he was kept from knowing something.

"Maybe she's really just a witch and is here to murder you in your sleep for digging into her business or maybe she'll put a spell on you to make you fall in love!" Fili joked, nudging his brother.

"Please, what dwarf would go for a beardless dwarf maiden? It's so... unnatural! I've caught myself staring at her once in a while..." Kili mumbled and his head sunk down between his shoulders a little.

"And what's so wrong about being unnatural, Mr. Scruffy Beard!" Fili chided, grabbing at his brother's small facial hair. "No wonder you didn't get any woman back home. You're too much of an arse!"

Kili tackled his brother and the two rolled around in a flurry of half-hearted punches and false name calling. It attracted the attention of all of the dwarves, but most just ignored the common commotion. Nakita's mouth twitched in an attempt not to smile at such behavior, but it was quite a nice sight. The brother's were laughing as they fought each other and in the back of her mind Nakita wished she had a bond like that.

Ori, prodded her and asked her to continue whatever she was saying before they Company was interrupted. She swallowed the chunk of apple she had been chewing on and continued. He hastily wrote down what he was being told, most likely a story. Bilbo would ask a question once in a while, receiving an answer, then would sit back with satisfaction.

The brothers, finally, finished their scuffle and sat back where they were originally. Giggles escaped every once in a while from their lips before they went back to their seriousness.

"What could it be?" Kili laid back in wonder.

"You seem to be developing an obsession with this, Kili..." Fili nudged his brother, only half joking. "She was right, we should respect her privacy."

"Since when have you ever respected privacy?" Kili shot back. "All those times when we were little and I tried being alone, you were the one who never let me have that!"

"That's you and you don't count, plus you're a _lad_. She's a maiden and maidens get privacy."

Kili looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow, "...Way to be sexist. Either way, she's as much of a 'lad' as I am, just with... with... different... parts?" Fili snorted in laughter at his brother's reasoning.

"Whatever you say..." Was his only mumble reply. Kili was about to say something when Bombur's voice bellowed out that the stew was done and before long bowls were being passed out. The brothers walked over to be close to the fire to eat.

Everyone except Nakita went up to get some of the food. She instead just sat back and watched them indulge themselves. It smelled good, but she didn't want to become a burden on a quest she wasn't even supposed to be on. She had begun to space out when footsteps made her look up.

"Here, Nakita." Bofur smiled, holding out a bowl for their female companion.

"Huh? Oh, no, I couldn't." She mumbled sheepishly, her head sinking in between her shoulders.

"Oh, just take it. You're part of the Company anyways." Nori called out with a laugh and she reluctantly took the bowl, gingerly using her spoon while she ate. Bilbo sat next to her and the two shared a conversation of how they felt a bit guilty, but Bilbo wasn't nearly as guilty as Nakita was, for he was still slightly angry that the dwarves had eaten his pantry dry. This made Nakita let out a small laugh and it made the hobbit smile.

"So, Nakita," Oin spoke up, his hearing trumpet sticking out of his hear. "I heard you were a storyteller before all this, or was it a Bard?"

"It was both, actually." Nakita answered his confusion after swallow the remainders of her meal.

"Really?" Fili piped up. He had enjoyed singing around in bars back in Ered Luin when he and Kili had the time and whenever the two were drinking, they were dancing and singing like nothing else mattered.

"Uh huh." She nodded to him. "I was also a fortune teller, but that was for only a short while." She explained then when she saw multiple dwarves and Bilbo look up at her expectantly she hastily added, "I'm not very good! I hardly know anything about much!" She would feel uncomfortable learning the fates of the Company.

Gandalf, who had been hunched over in the corner, let out a small smile, before speaking up. "I recall you were also a magician... for a short time." Nakita flinched at his words, but before she could say anything, Fili and Kili were sitting in front of her like little pups, begging for a treat.

"Show us a trick!" They said in unison and Nakita leaned back slightly from them, looking around for help. She found that everyone was looking at her expectantly, even Thorin had turned to look in curiosity.

"I really shouldn't, I mean.. I was only a magician for a short while and I'd rather not want to disappoint." She tried throwing out excuses, but the brother's shot her down every try. She looked very uncomfortable and glared at the wizard who brought it up.

"I hate you..." She muttered to Gandalf before looking at the Company to explain. "I took up the occupation as a magician not because I knew any tricks." She looked down to see Fili sink down a bit, but Kili continued to listen with full interest. "I did it because of my..." She coughed, sending another sharp glare at a smirking wizard.

"They were going to find out eventually." He commented.

"Yes, but did it have to be the very first night of our quest?" She grumbled.

"What is it that you're hiding?" Thorin's voice butted in and all at once, the joy from this situation dissolved in the air. Nakita cleared her throat nervously.

"I have the... the ability to control..." She looked up into his eyes daringly, "I have the ability to control fire."

Everyone's eyes widened all together as they took in her words. It took a great amount of time before Bilbo was the first to speak.

"So, that's why Gandalf told you not to burn down my home..." He mumbled in understanding. Once he finished his sentence, everyone flung questions at her in a frenzy.

"Are you joking?"

"How is that possible?"

"Why can you?"

"Have you ever hurt anyone?"

"Is it a weapon?"

"How do you do it?"

"Does it hurt?"

"How long have you been able to?"

"Is that why you're hiding something in your bag?" Kili and Fili's voices echoed out together and somehow silenced everyone. Ori had been writing in his journal looked up at her. Thorin, who had been staring at her in thought, broke his gaze and went to Gandalf to have a... discussion.

Nakita had curled up in a tiny ball and had her back against the earthen wall they had set up camp around. She had her hands over her face and when everyone quieted, she peeked out from between her fingers. She removed her hands from her face and set them in her lap, her legs falling to the sides so she sat criss-cross. She inhaled a deep breath before she began speaking quickly. "No, I'm not. No idea. I have absolutely no clue. Yes, I have. It can be used as one. I have no idea, I just do. No, it doesn't hurt me, but it can hurt anything else, just like regular fire. I could do it ever since I can remember. Partially yes, but there are other reasons as to why I have something _personal_ in my bag." Once she was finished she inhaled again and sighed.

Everyone was still again and it was quiet, except for the scribbling of Ori in his journal. Fili and Kili exchanged a look and Kili opened his mouth to speak.

"...Can you still show us a trick?" He asked in an innocent voice. Everyone nodded and agreed, making Nakita sink down sheepishly again.

"Um... I suppose..." She breathed evenly before lifting her hands up.

Her fingers twirled and wrists bent in wave like ways. At first no one saw anything, but Dwalin gasped and everyone went to look at him, but their attention was caught onto the fire that had cooked their meal. Strings of flames were rising above the regular flames and swirling together. They began to make shapes and figures.

"It's a pony!" Bofur called out as the flames made the familiar figure of a galloping pony. Laughs of amazement went through the crowd, until the figure began to morph into something else.

"Butterflies!" Kili shouted and three butterflies made of flame began fluttering around the dwarves. Dwalin went to touch one and his brother, Balin, swatted his hand away.

"You'll burn yourself, fool!" This made Nakita laugh and she changed the form yet again. This time a bird went flying through the dwarves. Thorin and Gandalf were watching now, after they had cried out the names of animals. Thorin seemed to be highly intrigued, while Gandalf was smiling softly at the show.

The bird multiplied and after the birds had flown around for a bit, their forms began to slowly seep back into a large ball above the fire. Everyone began calling out species of anything they could think of, trying to name the form. Finally, the thing was complete and the shape of an oliphant was recognized.

"Can you do anything else?" Fili asked, excitedly.

"Yes." Nakita nodded, letting the oliphant dissolve away into smoke. "Um..." She paused trying to think and once she finally thought of something, she raised her hands again. Everyone turned to the fire, waiting excitedly, but Nakita let out an 'ahem', drawing their attention to her.

She snapped her fingers and a small candle-like flame popped up from her fingers. She put the tips of her fingers together and when she pulled them away, each one of them had their own flame. The flame began flickering and shaping into weird forms. Nakita closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.

"Ori, look! It's you!" Gloin shouted, nudging him. On her right hand's thumb, a flame figure of Ori stood there with Nori and Dori, flickering. One by one the dwarves were sticking from her fingertips. Fili and Kili were next, then Bofur and Bifur, then Balin and Dwalin together, next was Bombur by himself, then Gloin, then Oin, and then Gandalf with his staff and hat, then Bilbo, and lastly, Thorin sat on her left pinkie.

Nakita opened her eyes and looked down at her creations. The dwarves were complimenting her generously and Bilbo was staring at himself in fascination.

"Thank you." Nakita said to each compliment she received. Thorin walked back to the camp and spoke with a slight annoyed tone.

"That's enough excitement for today. Get some sleep, we have a long ways to go." He said and then walked off to go lie down. Nakita, obediently, made the flames on her fingertips die out.

"That really was amazing." Bilbo smiled at her as he went to sit where he would sleep.

"Yeah, it was! Did you really just do all of it?" Kili asked, Fili looked towards his brother and noticed how intensely he was looking at Nakita. He sighed, deciding his brother definitely had an obsession.

"I taught myself and it took me a long time, but it's fun." She smiled thoughtfully, looking down at her hands. When she looked up to see Kili staring at her with such fierceness, she jumped. "Well... goodnight then." She dismissed herself in an awkward tone and got up, walking over to Ernil to give him something from the bag she had put onto her belt. Stroking his head once more before walking back near the fire, she fell to the ground with a sigh and closed her eyes. Fili prodded her side with a stick that he picked up from the ground beside him.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" He asked, referring to the notion that she didn't have her cloak covering her in substitute for a blanket.

"I'll be fine, thanks for your concern." She pushed the stick away from her and closed her eyes again. She let out an long exhale, but was prodded yet again. "What?" She opened her eyes irritably.

Fili looked around a bit, making sure no one could hear him. "I want to let you know that..." He sighed. "My brother can get obsessed with something easily when he wants to know it's secrets..." He explained.

"You're referring to my eye and fire, aren't you?" She propped herself up with an elbow and turned her body to face him. He nodded, looking over to Kili who was against the earthen wall, the two brothers would be taking the first watch.

"Just... watch out for anything weird he does." She snorted at him.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm obviously not familiar with weird things." She turned, pulling her cloak off and laying it over herself.

"Oh, just watch yourself." He muttered and then got up and joined his brother.

Not long after everyone was asleep, supposedly, Bilbo got up, trying to be casual. He strode over to the ponies and pulled out an apple, telling his pony to be quiet as she ate it. He smiled gently, but it fell quickly when a threatening cry howled through the night air. Thorin's eyes snapped open, but he made no movement.

"What was that?" Bilbo turned back to Fili and Kili who were watching the fire.

"Orcs..." Kili muttered gravely. Nakita was awake now, but she froze on the spot. Her body was facing the fire and she could see the two brothers. Her stomach flipped in fear as thoughts and images of how people had described them to her.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, fearfully. He bounded back near the fire.

Fili and Kili kept going on about how they attacked at night, but no screaming or anything.

"Just lots of blood..." Kili finished and it sent a shiver down Nakita's spine. Bilbo turned to look back in the general direction the howl had come from and almost immediately, the two started snickering to themselves. Enraged, Nakita thrust herself upwards, which caused the two to jump slightly, but before she could scold them, Thorin, who had gotten up, growled at them.

"You think that's funny?" He asked, making Bilbo turn around to see they were teasing him.

"We meant nothing by it..." Kili muttered, but Thorin turned his back on the two.

"You know nothing of the world..." Nakita heard him growl. She sat up and scooted to rest her back on a rock.

Gandalf sat against a boulder, far away from the group, smoking away with his pipe. He watched as Thorin walked over near the ponies and stared over the terrain.

Balin stood up and addressed Bilbo, turning whatever heads were awake. "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria...but our enemy had got there first." He began to explain the battle for Moria and how the king fell to Azog the Defiler, the Pale Orc. Nakita sat still at the terrifying sounding orc. Once Balin's story was finished, Bilbo spoke up.

"What happened to the pale orc?" He asked, curiously.

"Azog the Defiler died long ago from his wounds." Thorin stated simply as he walked back to his sleeping spot. He sat down as the dwarves, who had all woken up and heard Balin's tale, all followed his lead.

Kili and Fili exchanged glances and Nakita began to absently braid her hair. She didn't think she would be able to sleep anymore. She looked up at the moon that shown above them. It was almost full and since it was summer, the summer solstice would be soon. She frowned at the thought of that day coming. Gandalf had said it was her birthday and it was the date that she used, but she wouldn't be celebrating a birthday this year, nor probably any birthdays after this dreadful journey. She pulled her cloak up around her shoulders and stared at the fire.

The rest of the night was long and sullenly quiet, except for the occasional sighs that escaped from her mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone reading this..**

**Seriously.**

**Ya'll are beautiful.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The next day went by smoothly. They had packed up camp just before dawn swiftly and were soon on their way, however, the skies were a dull gray and there was no sun to be seen. This made Nakita slightly nervous, for she had a fear of thunder, but she loved the rain and always watched storms blow by.

Fili and Kili, along with the occasion of any other traveler in their Company, had tried getting to know her a bit more. She had explained things all the way to her favorite color, being a royal purple, to the story of her cave explorations. It was quite the quest and Nakita was beginning to look up to it more and more with how close she was at becoming possible friends with the others. That is, until the rain started pelting down from the clouds.

The rain was so heavy that it soaked through the hood of her cloak and she feared that the rain would get through her saddlebags and into her food, clothes, and other things, so she stopped Ernil and hopped off, making sure that the contents of her bag would stay dry. Thorin, suspiciously, made Gloin and Dori stay back with her, but she let them continue on. Everyone was crabby and had short tempers because of the rain, so they obliged. Once she settled her paranoia, she jumped back onto Ernil and continued on the path that the group took.

The one good thing about staying back, was that they got to gallop to catch up. It had made Nakita smile and she had to bite her tongue to hold back a whoop. She hadn't been able to gallop for a while, the pony's needed agility and endurance over speed. Ernil certainly enjoyed it that when they had caught up, he flew past everyone and Nakita was forced to make him stop. He reared back and turned on his hind feet. She sat and waited and when the Company caught up, her cheeks were stained red from the awkward silence that followed as Thorin trotted past.

"You've got a fast horse." Fili offered and she thanked him for his compliment, stroking Ernil's neck. After that, there wasn't much conversation, just the constant splatter of rain on the ground below them.

They had been riding for a few hours now and everyone was irritably soaked to the bone. It was silent, except for the small rolls of thunder in the background, which caused Nakita to jump and flinch whenever she heard the blasted rumble.

"Aye, Mr. Gandalf. Can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori's voice spoke up.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done." Gandalf spoke back in a short tempered voice. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard!" He called back, riding at the front of the group. This picked up conversation obviously as Bilbo spoke up as well.

"Are there any?" He asked.

"What?" Gandalf asked.

"Any wizards?" This struck up the attention of Nakita and a few of the others. Even though she had known Gandalf for all her life, she hadn't known much about him.

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White." This name, for some reason, made Nakita's eyes narrow and Kili, who noticed, was about to ask when Gandalf continued. "Then there are the two Blue wizards, you know I've quite forgotten there names."

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked.

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown." He answered.

"Is he a great wizard, or is he like you?" Nakita snorted and laughed silently to herself at the bashing Bilbo had just unintentionally given Gandalf.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals."

"Like me..." Nakita whispered to herself, Kili and Fili giving her a glance.

"He keeps a watchful eye on the vast forest lands to the East and a good thing too, for always, evil will look to find a foothold in this world." Gandalf finished and this seemed to be the end of the conversation, so they kept riding back into the silence.

It rained for the rest of the day and many predicted it would rain throughout the night. Only getting groans of annoyance from the Company. Fili and Kili were sent to scout of a place to camp for the night and they didn't have much luck. Another hour in the rain and Nakita stopped her horse when something caught her eye.

"Oi!" She called out to the Company, waving her hand for them to come back. "I think I found something." She jumped off her horse and walked through a large, wet, bush. She pushed the bush's branches away from her face, the movement sending a thicker shower down onto her, but she was already soaked to the bone, so she hardly felt the difference.

Behind the bush was a large stone wall, most likely carved many years ago, but the way it curved back in like a cave made it seem like it would have been used by travelers much.

"Looks like we can finally dry off, boys!" Nakita grinned, putting her hands on her hips. A few of the dwarves cheered and she received many pats on the back for her find, even Thorin, despite his usual hostility towards the dwarf maiden, gave her a nod of approval, which made her grin a bit wider. She had been hoping to gain some relation with the King, and now there was a bit of hope shining through.

Almost immediately everyone began unpacking and claiming spots to rest. Oin was hard at work trying to find dry wood for a warm and much welcomed fire, but there was nothing. An idea sparked into Ori's mind as he watched Oin's struggle.

"Um... Nakita?" His voice spoke from behind the white haired maiden, who was brushing out some water from Shadowmere's coat. She turned immediately to see what he wanted.

"Yes, Ori?" She asked in a polite tone.

Ori gestured over to Oin before speaking, "I'm not really sure what you could do, but... uh, do you think you could.. um."

It was obvious to Nakita what he was asking, but he didn't want to be blunt and make her uncomfortable. She smiled gently, "Yes, Ori. I can try and help." He grinned in relief and led her over to Oin, almost everyone stopped to watch, obviously knowing what was going to happen.

"Oin, mind if I?" Nakita asked, not wanting to make him feel embarrassed for failing at the fire. She pointed down at the pile of damp wood.

Oin stood up, taking note of the eyes watching them. "If you don't mind, yes. I could use your help." She nodded and bent down. They obviously wouldn't be having any issues regarding cooking, warmth, or light anymore.

Nakita knelt down next to the pile and in an instant flames were coming up from her hands. She held it close to the wood, working her way around, drying it up. It took some time and everyone was eagerly waiting for the fire to be complete so they could stop shivering and dry off. At last, Nakita stood up and away from her work. The fire was burning at a good rate and when more wood would need to be added, she would just be called over to dry it off and then continue whatever it was she was doing.

She was laying down with her back to Ernil, who was laying on the ground next to her, drying out a book she had with her when Kili strolled up beside her.

"What is it?" She asked when she noticed the light from the campfire was being blocked. She looked up and met his golden brown eyes.

"Here." He handed her a bowl of stew.

"Oh, I didn't know the food was even being cooked. I could have helped..." She looked uncomfortable taking the bowl, but did. Kili sat down next to her with his own.

"Nonsense, you've helped enough. If it weren't for your help, we would most likely be sitting in the mud still soaked." Nakita chuckled lightly at the comment just as Fili joined his brother.

"How's our tag-along doing?" He chided.

She smirked, "Better than you."

"Ooh." Kili laughed, nudging his brother.

"Well, aren't you just a spark of fire?" Fili snorted as he drank his stew.

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it?" She chuckled, chewing on some of the vegetables in the meal.

"What are you reading?" Kili perked up when he noticed the book in her lap.

"I wasn't reading it, I was drying it off. Stupid rain washed away some of the words, so I'm going to have to rewrite it a bit."

"You wrote a book?" Fili asked, almost choking on his food.

"No, you dumb dumb. I've read so many times I could probably recite it." She snorted and, finishing her stew, continuing her drying. She was about three fourths through, so she would most likely be able to dry it completely and get some sleep before they continued on.

Kili stifled a laugh at the term she had called his brother, which got him a punch on the shoulder from Fili.

"What's it about?" He asked, rubbing his arm.

"It's about an old fairy tale of a land very far to the north from here. Well, no... more like north west." She stated, beginning to ramble a bit. "In a land called Skyrim. There, dragons are nothing to be feared. In fact, they're worshiped by the Nordic race, a race of Man." She explained, then realized that the talk of dragons had drawn attention from the others. She looked up at their shocked face. She instantly took it back and wanted to never have told what the book was of. She met the eyes of Thorin, who looked angry. His eyes bore into hers and after a moment he stormed off to be by himself. Nakita, whose face was flushed scarlet, looked down at her crossed legs and began fiercely drying her book, almost burning the pages. She muttered a very soft apology, which only Fili and Kili heard.

After it quieted down a bit and everyone went back to their own business, Kili scooted a bit closer to Nakita. "It's okay, you know. You didn't mean to bring up any bad thoughts." He tried to comfort her.

"I know, but... I should have thought before I spoke. It was foolish of me." She mumbled. She had been drying so frantically that she had sped up her rate of pages and was already on the second to last one.

"Nonsense, it was just a little... shocking." He replied, having to pause a bit to search for a word. He looked up and watched Fili, who had left the two, help clean up the mess from supper. "It sounds like a really interesting story. Is it one you told when you were a storyteller?" He asked.

"Yes, actually, it was." She smiled softly and looked up at him, finishing her book drying. "It was one of my favorites."

"Didn't you also do something like, oh what was it?" Even though he was being sly about it, Nakita still picked up his social cue. He wanted something. "Oh, I remember!" He declared, "It was fortune telling."

Nakita grew a little dark and her voice lowered, "Kili... I'm sorry, but... I'm not going to read your fortune." She closed her book and shoved it into her bag that sat beside her.

"Oh come on! Why not?" He asked, trying to beg, but failing.

"Because. I don't want to." She resisted, slowly rising to her feet. "And I mean it." She snarled at him. She walked off into the woods and Ernil immediately got up and followed her with a neigh.

Kili stared after her, while the company stared at him. He had struck a nerve and it seemed to be the fuse to a _very _short explosion.

Fili walked over. "Kili, what did you do?" He looked a bit shocked and slightly afraid that Nakita would come back and burn him.

"I asked her to read my fortune because she used to do it as a job, but then she just yelled at me and walked away!" He flailed his arms into wild gestures to show he was just as shocked. They stared at where she had gone off to and eventually Fili shrugged.

"She'll be fine. Come on, let's go get some sleep before it's our watch." He pulled his brother to their sleeping spot, but Kili couldn't get Nakita out of his head. He wanted to know what had caused her to quit that occupation. He wanted to know what was wrong with her eye. He wanted to know her.

He had a rough time sleeping before his watch.


End file.
